The present invention concerns a method for removing a cover from a storage box, in particular from a storage box filled with prefabricated, disposable syringes.
Typically, prefabricated, disposable syringes, for example, are transported in storage boxes in which they are secured in a hanging arrangement in a perforated tray. The tray sits loosely on a ledge projecting from the inner circumference of the storage box. After the disposable syringes are inserted, the top side of each storage box is closed with a lid-like cover which is connected with the circumferential edge of typically nearly rectangular storage boxes. The connection and the cover itself must be germ-proof. In addition, a second cover is placed loosely underneath this first cover before the first cover is installed, e.g., for cushioning purposes or the like. The storage boxes are sterilized in this state and, in fact, on the exterior and the interior through the cover, so that the disposable syringes and a loosely inserted inner cover contained therein are also sterilized; in this state, and packed in individual, sterile bags, for example, they are delivered to pharmaceutical companies, where the disposable syringes are filled with a pharmaceutical product in automated filling and sealing machines. To fill the disposable syringes delivered in the storage boxes, the lid-like, top cover and, if applicable, a further, loosely inserted second cover must be removed. The removal process must take place under sterile conditions. This process is often performed manually by an operating personnel wearing a glove who reaches into a sterile region of the machinery (isolator). Due to the use of the gloved hand, the operating personnel is involved in this process, although only two to three storage boxes must be opened every minute, for example.
A device for removing the cover from storage boxes is furthermore known (DE 44 19 475 A1), the device including a gripper device with gripping claws, a transport device, and further complex mechanical means for removing the top cover. A device of this type is complicated and laborious, requires a great deal of space, and is very expensive. In addition, using a device of this type does not always ensure that the top cover will be gripped securely, e.g., because the cover, which extends a few mm past the edge of the storage box and only at the edges, is often bent upward or downward and therefore cannot be gripped securely. Nor can it be ruled out that the cover will tear while it is being pulled off and will not be removed completely.